Discipleship (Building the men that transform nations) Acts 11:19
By Apostle Joshua Selman

Acts 11:19 - 26, Matthew 28:18-20

The great commission is 3 fold/components

1. Our ministry to the world of unbelievers
2. Equipping and maturing of the saints
3. Impacting and transforming society using the value system of the kingdom

All 3 components are important, but the second(Equipping and maturing of the saints) is uniquely important because it is the key in being effective in every other aspect. Failure in equipping and training believers will result in a decline in soul winning and the availability of changed agents that transforms society.

The cure to many of the evil and the backwardness in the society, alongside the poor quality of believers is discipleship.

What is Discipleship?

1. Discipleship is the ongoing process of progressively becoming like Jesus Christ in words, thoughts, and actions depending on the transforming power of the Holy Spirit
2. It is a life long journey of spiritual growth, transformation and conformity to the character of the Christ in experience
3. It is also the intentional and structured mentoring of believers so that they progressively attain unto spiritual maturity and experience
4. Discipleship is building the culture of the kingdom in believers Titus 3: 1 - 8

Ephesians 5:1&2

On a broader scale, discipleship also involves strategically transforming those who would eventually transform their territories and nations - so it is simply building men

In other words, Human capital development

The church is the most reliable institution on earth with the divinely accredited strategy for reforming and transforming men.

Educating the human mind alone may produce an intelligent person as far quantitative and qualitative reasoning is concerned, but it is not enough to produce a reformed and transformed people.

Most of the problems in homes, marriages, the political space, workplace, on the pulpit mostly are connected to discipleship or the absence of it.

Discipleship can benefit anyone, but bible discipleship is only most profitable to believers.

There are major aspects of discipleship

1. Knowledge based discipleship - Becoming like Christ by contending for a sound superior knowledge of scripture John 5:39. The word of God alongside word complaint materials are used to acquire or transfer spiritual knowledge about God and His ways.

   Knowledge based discipleship is profitable, but if you stop here you will never truly reflect the character of the Christ.

2. Lifestyle based discipleship - Deciding to adopt the culture(the value system) and lifestyle of the kingdom as demonstrated by Jesus and replicating that lifestyle through the enablement of the spirit. Growing into a lifestyle of obedience and surrender

   Living out the fruit of the spirit in experience.

   The church is full of many believers with deep and sometime high standing spiritual knowledge but our lifestyle is in many regards hardly a reflection of a true christian

Discipleship must capture certain teachings or elements, or else can become a religious ritual and even put believers in bondage.

For your discipleship to be effective it must capture the following:

• You must understand salvation through the finished works of Christ Ephesians 2:8-9
• The responsibility of obedience and alignment in becoming like Christ
• People must be thought to work in love(love of God and people) Ephesians 5:2
• You must be thought how to live by faith Hebrew 10:38
• Productivity as a key to impact and economic emancipation
• Responsibility as a lifestyle - Every gift, door that opens, lifting no matter where must be seen as a gift with responsibility attached to them.
• Selflessness - Nothing created by God lives for itself and everything lives when it serves a purpose bigger than itself

Tools for effective discipleship

1. The ministry of the holy spirit
2. The word of God
3. The presence of teachers, mentors or role models who embody knowledge character, transformation, consistency and result Jeremiah 3:15
4. A spiritual family - A community of like minded believers that allow for fellowship and social interaction. It is impossible to truly be an effective disciple without a family. Kingdom community living is one of the major ways to sustain kingdom values.Hebrews 10:25, Proverbs 27:17
5. A platform service - You cannot be a true disciple until you find a way of serving the purposes of God, you and start by serving at least in the house of GodMatthew 20:28

Fruits of discipleship

The greatest fruit of a thoroughly discipled believer is a balanced christian life that reflects the following:

1. The fruits of the spirit, especially love
2. Death to self - a detachment from an excessive love for pleasure. To embrace a life of modesty even in the presence of abundance and plenty.
3. Placing priority of Jesus as the most important relationship in your life.
4. Freedom from mamon - the ungodly and unhealthy attachment to money and any material thing
5. Freedom from fear persecution and death